Happy Birthday, Rangiku
by Kaychan87
Summary: It's Rangiku's birthday and what should be a happy occasion for her isn't. Gin's gone and her birthday just isn't the same without him. Takes place just after Aizen, Gin, and Tousen defect


_**Happy Birthday, Rangiku**_

**Disclaimer: BLEACH and all its characters are property of Kubo Tite**

Author's Note: This story was a birthday gift written for Dragen Eyez

* * *

"Happy birthday Rangiku-san!!"

The chorus of voices pulled Matsumoto Rangiku out of her daydream with a start. It took her a moment to realize some of the women from her squad were standing before her, waiting for her to respond.

"Aww, thank you! You're all so sweet!" the busty red head gushed, full of enthusiasm. Satisfied, the women of Squad 10 went back to work before their captain had a chance to scold them.

"What was that all about Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya Toushirou asked his subordinate.

"Why Captain, did you forget my birthday?!" Rangiku exclaimed, pouting at her child-captain.

"I was referring to you spacing out."

Rangiku's expression quickly became sombre as she listened to her captain's words. She should have realized he would have noticed the moment she retreated into the world of her memories. Despite his age, her captain was sharp as a tack.

"Well?" Hitsugaya pressed again. He knew his vice-captain better than most people in the Seireitei. Though usually flighty, Rangiku was always quick to acknowledge any praise and attention she received.

"It was... nothing, Captain," the red head said at last. Hitsugaya gave her a weary look. There could only be one person on her mind if she refused to talk about it - Ichimaru Gin. Hitsugaya forced himself not to growl in utter contempt out loud. Instead he did something that shocked them both.

"Take the rest of the day off, Matsumoto. Go celebrate your birthday with your friends."

"Captain?" Rangiku said in surprise.

"Go before I change my mind and assign you some work."

Rangiku laughed as she rose from the couch she was lounging on. "Thank you, Captain." Hitsugaya just returned to his paperwork, seemingly ignoring his second-in-command. Rangiku couldn't help but smile. Her captain might appear to be as cold as his Hyourinmaru but she knew otherwise. It was just difficult for him to show anyone his real feelings but Rangiku was drawing them out little by little. '_Like _**he**_ did with me,_' she thought, fighting to keep her smile from faltering before she left the Squad 10 barracks.

"Happy birthday, Rangiku," Hitsugaya called when Rangiku slid open the door. The red head ducked her head and left quickly. Hitsugaya sighed when Rangiku was out of sight. He knew she wouldn't go out and celebrate with anyone. Most likely she would go back to her room and drink alone. '_Damn you, Ichimaru._'

* * *

After leaving her captain, Rangiku didn't go to her room to drink alone nor did she go celebrate with her friends. Instead, she left the Seireitei entirely and made for the Rukongai. She headed off in what seemed like a random direction without looking back. Every year for her birthday she and Gin would disappear for a few hours together. Not many people knew why they did it or where they went but everyone realized they did it as a couple. That year was the first time Rangiku travelled alone on her birthday. It was her first birthday since Gin had defected from the Gotei 13 with Aizen Sousuke and Tousen Kaname. A few tears slid down her cheek as she flash stepped her way to her destination. She was on her way back to where it had all started for her, the place she and Gin began. Going without him was difficult but she couldn't not go. There was a part of her that hoped desperately that Gin would be waiting for her with a birthday surprise like always.

"Damn it," she cursed. She slowed down to a normal pace as she drew nearer to the usual meeting place. Closing her eyes, Rangiku took a deep breath. The air seemed to be filled with Gin's scent and her heart began to race. Despite everything, she still yearned for him. Long before she had ever been a Shinigami, Gin was all she had known. She was alive because of him. She was bound to him in so many ways that forgetting him was impossible.

_"Gin-chan! Gin-chan!"_

_"Whatcha got there Rangiku?"_

_"A present for you!"_

_"They're beautiful flowers, Rangiku."_

_"You're beautiful too, Gin-chan!"_

She made her way down the path where he had found her. They had made a little wooden shack a short distance away and it had been their home together until Gin had gone off to the Shinigami academy. She followed him soon after, of course, unable to stay away from him for so long.

_"Whatcha doin' Rangiku? I come home ta ya and ya look like yer leavin'," Gin stood in the door of their little home, watching Rangiku as she got dressed._

_"I'm going to be a Shinigami with you, Gin," she told him confidently._

_"Ya sure ya wanna? Yer gonna have ta do a lot of fightin'," Gin asked, the faintest trace of concern in his voice._

_"Of course. I want to be where you are Gin. I love you."_

By the time the remains of the shack came into view, tears were streaming down her cheeks full force. She had so many memories of her and Gin, good and bad, in that place. They always celebrated their birthdays there together. She had left with him to be a Shinigami on her birthday all those years ago. He had confessed his love for her in that little shack on his birthday years after they had abandoned it. She had given herself to him for the first time at their former home a few weeks later on her birthday.

'_Everywhere I look holds a memory of us. I'm haunted by him,_' she thought as she made her way up the old dirt path; being in that place and remembering Gin as only she knew him made her love him all the more. '_I don't care that he betrayed us all. I want him here for this._' She was horribly selfish where Gin was concerned. H belonged to her as much as she belonged to him. She would never accept him as Aizen's.

Rangiku wiped a few tears away as she stopped in what was once a well crafted doorway. When they had moved to the Seireitei they had let the shack fall into a state of ruin. Most of the wood had rotted and there were a few holes in the low ceiling but it was still home.

"Home is where the heart is and our heart is here," she sighed and ducked through the door frame. She stood for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dimness of the one room hovel, inhaling the musty scent that often lingered around Gin for a few days after their visits. She thought she detected the faint fragrance of chrysanthemums and persimmons and gave her head a shake. "It only smells like that when Gin is here," she reminded herself. There was no way he could have set foot in the shack. He was in Hueco Mundo doing gods know what with the Menos and Aizen.

A hint of anger flared up in her and she folded her arms over her ample chest. As sad as she was, she was angry too. How dare he miss her birthday! "That bastard owes me a present!" she muttered, remembering how he had conned his gift out of her five months early.

She took another deep, calming breath and her heart nearly skipped a beat. The scent of chrysanthemums and persimmons was stronger than it had been when she entered the shack. Immediately she was on guard and her hand was on Haineko's hilt. As much as she loved him, Rangiku wouldn't let Gin leave without a fight if he was there. Quietly and quickly she scanned the shack. She tensed when she saw something silver and black huddled in a corner.

"Gin!!" Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for some sort of reaction. She waited for what seemed like a million years before she realized the thing had no reiatsu. She crossed the shack in three quick steps and stared down at the thing in the corner. Startled, Rangiku let out a cry of joy and sadness. She let go of Haineko and picked up a silver fox doll dressed in a mini shihakusho and white haori. Fresh tears started to flow and Rangiku couldn't help laughing as she crushed the fox against her chest.

'_That fool,_' she thought as she plucked a folded note card from the fox's shihakusho. Unfolding it_, _she found the words 'Happy Birthday' written in Gin's handwriting. '_That fox!_' she thought, thinking of Gin rather than the fox doll. She didn't know how he managed to pull off something so daring but she was glad that he had. Even if they were now enemies, she felt relieved to know that his feelings for her hadn't changed at all. It gave her hope as well. '_Maybe one day you'll come back to me, Gin,_' she thought with a smile. Holding tightly to her fox, Rangiku left the shack and returned to the Seireitei to finish off her birthday with a few rounds of sake with her friends.


End file.
